The biggest surprise of the night came when the Ravens sent receiver Marquis “Hollywood” Brown to the Cardinals and the 100th overall selection in the draft for a first-round pick. Making that surprise even more surprising is that it happened well before the pick the Ravens are getting from the Cardinals is on the clock.
The Ravens have acquired the 23rd overall pick. And everyone knows it. Which means that other teams can plot to try to jump them, the way the Eagles did to get defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
So why would the Ravens make that move well before the pick is on the clock? Here’s an explanation that makes sense. Maybe they’ll now shop that pick to the 49ers as part of a trade for receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel makes plenty of sense for the Ravens. He’s competitive, hard-nosed, and versatile. In a run-based offense, he’ll fit right in. He can take short passes and take off.
Again, there otherwise no reason for the Ravens to finalize that deal until the 23rd pick was on the clock. The only reason to do it early is if they plan to do something with the pick other than use it.